What Kind Of House Does God Live In?

WESTSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH

PASTOR: TERRY VAUGHAN

SERMON TITLE: WHAT KIND OF HOUSE DOES GOD LIVE IN?

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16-18 KJV

TEXT VERSE: Isaiah 66:1 “Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?”

I want to share with you today: what kind of a house does God live in? If you looked at every one of us and the way we were brought up, the types of jobs we had or maybe the types of parenting we had. We all have lived a different life style. We have different things we enjoy. We live in different areas but we all have a place where we reside. A place I call my home. There’s not a better place on the earth in the physical sense than the place that we call home. It’s very important to us and very private. It’s a blessing that God has given us a place to live and a country we can live in and come and worship God in Spirit and in truth. I want you to know that right off the bat that the Bible says that God is a Spirit. He’s not flesh and blood. You can’t get God out of the trees and expect to get a blessing. That’s part of His creation plan. If you want part of the Salvation plan it can only come through the Spirit. What kind of a house does God live in? What kind of house are you making for the Lord?

I want to share this verse in Hebrew 3:6 “But Christ as a Son over His own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.” If you’ve been saved by the Grace of God this morning....you are His house. A lot of people when they think of Kings and Princes or those in authority...they think of some great big castle somewhere. Some big mansion laced with gold or silver. Some fancy thing. Thank God today I’m glad Jesus Christ lives inside of this old boy that’s standing in front of you today. If you’re saved by the Grace of God then God has moved in. I wonder just what kind of a house. What kind of a Christian. What kind of a home you’ve got for the Lord today. I wonder what kind of place are you making for Him today?

Now I want to say this because maybe there is some non believers here today and maybe there is some that have been saved by the Grace of God. I want to share three building blocks that you need to build a good place inside of your soul for the Lord to live.

NUMBER ONE: You have to build it by faith. The Bible says we walk by faith and not by sight. Ephesians 3:17 “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith;....” That means you can’t see God. You can’t touch God. You can’t hear God with your physical ears but it means that you know God. You’ve got faith that Christ abides on the inside of you. If you’re not sure this morning of your salvation, you need to be today. You have to build a house out of faith. They said that Martin Luther went overseas to that area around Jerusalem where they have all those great steps where people would go up the steps on their knees as a sign that they were trying to get close to him. They said those men and women would go up those great concrete steps to that altar on their knees and their knees would bleed. But when they got to the top they could stand up and walk back down the steps. They said that Martin Luther was over there and wanted to see it and experience it. He started up the steps on his knees and about half way up the Spirit spoke to him and said he didn’t have to do this to get close to him. All he had to do was walk by faith and not by sight. They said he got up and praised God and they ran him out of that country. Bless God we’re not serving a God that’s just over in that country. We’re serving a God that lives on the inside of us this morning. He’s not just down at Westside Baptist Church. He’s lives on the inside of us. If you’ve got God on the inside you’ll share him with somebody. You’ll know whether or not you’ve got him. You’ve got to start building a house for God here. (pointing to the heart). You’ve got to start building it with faith. You say preacher, he don’t live on the inside. Oh yes he does. The Bible says that the Kingdom of God is within you. If you think that God is up there and just up there, you’re thinking the wrong way. He’s in the presence of his people. He’s inside of his people.